Zero Draft Writing

Many people get blocked at the very start of the writing process because they believe their writing has to be PERFECT from the get-go, with perfect word choice, perfect sentence structure, perfect spelling, and perfectly formed ideas.

Does this perfectionist attitude block your writing in the early stages?

I have news for you: Your writing does NOT have to perfect, especially not at this initial stage. Think of the earliest version of a piece of writing -- the draft even BEFORE the first draft -- as the Zero Draft.

You can also call it a Discovery Draft or Notes for a First Draft.

Thinking in terms of Zero Draft allows you to write for the purpose of discovering what you have to say. You are less stressed out about the outcome, which in turn can lead to bouts of brilliance! In your Zero Draft -- of a chapter, thesis statement, or dissertation abstract -- let yourself freewrite. You have the freedom to experiment with wacky ideas, type incomplete sentences, and let the automatic Spell Check underline every word. You don't care. Your job at this stage is to get ideas out from your brain and into your computer. Type, type, type. Don't censor, don't judge. Heck, you can even use an elaborate font in a bright color. 

In Zero Draft writing, allow yourself to be messy, wrong, unsure, and grammatically incorrect.

If you get tripped up or distracted by word choice decisions, sentence arrangement choices, and the like, take the pressure off of your writing by titling the top of the page: Zero Draft. 

Remind yourself that you can -- and will -- come back to a particular word choice, idea, or spelling question later. It's OK to leave incomplete sentences, dangling participles, and spelling that puts Spell Check into overdrive.  These gaps can be filled later, when you put on your Editor's hat during the revision phase. For now, get some core ideas out of your head and into the abstract system of signs known as written language. This is already an  accomplishment!

Good luck,
Dissertation Diva

PS: I wrote this post as a Zero Draft.. then went back and fixed spelling and organization. See? It works!

Comments

[Sam]

Thank you for this post! I have just discovered your site, and already I am benefiting. Right now, I am simply trying to write a standard research paper for a senior level class, and I have not been able to bring myself to begin for days. You see, I suffer from an extreme case of this perfectionism you write of! It can be rather crippling... So, I am going to try what you said about the Zero Draft. I love this idea. My main problem is that I know nothing of the topic I was assigned, so I have felt stuck. Furthermore, I never start writing until I have a pretty good idea of exactly what my end result will look like. But, I love the idea of the Zero Draft. My frozen state ends now! Thanks again, and this is a great site.

[robert]

i really like your sense of levity and playfulness. I hope you enjoy the irony I point and agree that it is healthy to laugh at ourselves sometimes. Re-read the first sentence in your third paragraph. Isn't this simple typo funny and ironic?